40 years after death, Mao’s mixed legacy looms over China
BEIJING — Friday marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Mao Zedong, who founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and ran it virtually uncontested until his death on Sept. 9, 1976.
While his reputation was deeply tarnished by the chaos and destruction of the ultra-radical 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, subsequent generations have generally accepted the ruling Communist Party’s official verdict that he was on balance 70 per cent right and 30 per cent wrong.
Here are some ways Mao’s influence lingers in today’s very-different China:
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